| May
09/03 - Leadership
The
most frequent criticism of my game in SW 3.0 was that I was
"too out in the open". I had originally planned to
establish myself on a middle ground and “fly under the
radar”. During the first immunity challenge, I asked my
tribemates how they were doing with their individual projects,
and used that information to ensure that my score fell around
the average. However, the results showed me two things: certain
individuals had little or no decision-making skills, and that
my strategy would cost the team immunity challenges.
To combat those tribal shortcomings, I needed to take control
of the group projects. Mitch was eager to do these projects,
but he was unreliable, and an inefficient decision maker. He
focused on the aesthetics of the project instead of using all
available resources. Survivor Webcam immunity challenges tend
to favor quantity over quality, so I knew that Mitch wasn't
going to benefit us in the long run.
I also realized that I needed to give stronger performances
on the immunity challenges, rather than hold myself back to
stand on a middle ground. In order for the tribe to win, there
had to be no such thing as “enough” effort. I assumed
an active role in leading the tribe not because the opportunity
was there for the taking, but because it was a necessity for
winning. Effective leaders arise from a need, not from a will
to power.
The
best leader in Survivor is the one that leads without having
to declare themselves (e.g. Thailand's Brian). However, there
are several conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to
effectively do this:
· Know the social status of everyone in the tribe. Know
who likes who, who hates who, and most importantly, one’s
own personal relations. A word of caution, this information
is better obtained indirectly.
·
Don't isolate anybody. Having outcasts helps in deciding who
goes next at tribal council, but those outcasts can quickly
become threats in the event of a merge/split. Even if there
is dislike for certain individuals, make sure that they don't
realize that. Keep friends close and enemies closer.
·
Never declare leadership. It's likely that somebody will resent
that remark, and it will be enough to plant a seed of mistrust
that will eventually uproot a tribe/alliance’s foundation.
·
Listen willingly. This helps establish tribemates' trust, but
avoid "brick walling" (i.e. giving one word responses).
·
Lead by example. Be the MVP in immunity challenges. A leader’s
performance affects tribal morale during immunity challenges,
and helps relations with tribemates.
Leaders have three goals they need to win: One is to keep loyalty
and morale high. The second goal is to lead their alliance/tribe
into the merger as the majority. The final goal is to pick the
off mercilessly. Playing by the numbers is a boring tactic,
but it is the best strategy for a leader.
"Therefore a wise prince will
seek means by which his subjects will always and in every possible
condition of things have need of his government, and then they
will always be faithful to him." - Niccolo Machiavelli,
The Prince
May
05/03 - Deception
The
most frequent criticism of my game in SW 3.0 was that I was
"too out in the open". I had originally planned to
establish myself on a middle ground and “fly under the
radar”. During the first immunity challenge, I asked my
tribemates how they were doing with their individual projects,
and used that information to ensure that my score fell around
the average. However, the results showed me two things: certain
individuals had little or no decision-making
skills, and that my strategy would cost the team immunity challenges.
To combat those tribal shortcomings, I needed to take control
of the group projects. Mitch was eager to do these projects,
but he was unreliable, and an inefficient decision maker. He
focused on the aesthetics of the project instead of using all
available resources. Survivor Webcam immunity
challenges tend to favor quantity over quality, so I knew that
Mitch wasn't going to benefit us in the long run.
I
also realized that I needed to give stronger performances on
the immunity challenges, rather than hold myself back to stand
on a middle ground. In order for the tribe to win, there had
to be no such thing as “enough” effort. I assumed
an active role in leading the tribe not because the opportunity
was there for the taking, but because it was a necessity for
winning. Effective leaders arise from a need, not from a will
to power. The best leader in Survivor is the one that leads
without having to declare themselves (e.g. Thailand's Brian).
However, there are several conditions that need to be fulfilled
in order to effectively do this:
· Know the social status of everyone in the tribe. Know
who likes who, who hates who, and most importantly, one’s
own personal relations. A word of caution, this information
is better obtained indirectly.
·
Don't isolate anybody. Having outcasts helps in deciding who
goes next at tribal council, but those outcasts can quickly
become threats in the event of a merge/split. Even if there
is dislike for certain individuals, make sure that they don't
realize that. Keep friends close and enemies closer.
·
Never declare leadership. It's likely that somebody will resent
that remark, and it will be enough to plant a seed of mistrust
that will eventually uproot a tribe/alliance’s foundation.
· Listen willingly. This helps establish tribemates'
trust, but avoid "brick walling" (i.e. giving one
word responses).
·
Lead by example. Be the MVP in immunity challenges.
A
leader’s performance affects tribal morale during immunity
challenges, and helps relations with tribemates.
Leaders have three goals they need to win: One is to keep loyalty
and morale high. The second goal is to lead their alliance/tribe
into the merger as the majority. The final goal is to pick the
off mercilessly. Playing by the numbers is a boring tactic,
but it is the best strategy for a leader.
"Therefore a wise prince will seek means by which his subjects
will always and in every possible condition of things have need
of his government, and then they will always be faithful to
him." - Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
April
09/03 - Friendship
In
SW, a group of friends benefits from more advantages than a
mere alliance. Friendships develop from similar interests and
compatible personalities. Therefore a group of friends will
be more likely to think in accordance with each other and aid
in their progress, while a group of individuals may undo an
alliance by choosing to pursue their
own interests.
Ryan
seemed nervous at first, but his personality was outgoing and
his demeanor friendly. I was initially wary of his exuberant
mannerisms, but he was the non-abrasive sort, so we got along
very well. Late night chats brought our friendship into fruition
because they were honest, open, and fun. Being less guarded
during a chat may seem like
a mistake, but friendships are built upon trust. To truly build
a friendship in the game, a mutual trust must exist.
In
3.0, I pursued a friendship with Mike because according to his
bio, we had similar interests. During the first week, talks
were only going well with Ryan, so I was determined to see if
things would go well with Mike. Time barriers had to be overcome
because he lived on the east coast of the United States while
I lived in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The effort made
to get into contact with him paid off, because Mike proved to
be a great friend and an excellent ally throughout the game.
Having friendships does not change the fact that everybody’s
playing the game, but it doesn’t mean that talk of the
game has to be excluded among friends. Friends are more receptive
and understanding than that of “allies”. A friend
may understand why they’re being targeted for votes, but
that ally may express discontent and undermine
the trust of an alliance.
The
best aspect about having friends in Survivor Webcam is obvious:
no matter how you do, you’ll still have something after
the game. Hopefully those friendships were tempered, not held
together, by the stress of the game.
"...friendships
go a long way and supercede the whole 'alliance' idea."
- Sebastian, 2.0 Winner
April
03/03 - Obfuscation
At
tribal councils, the foolish pour out information and the wise
drink it in. Players that speak their thoughts before evaluating
them may reveal more than they intended. Chock Dee's tribal
councils were rife with emotions, and consequently yielded information
about alliances. The best way to avoid this is to keep your
emotions in check, including the urge to send a quick rebuttal
after being confronted. Sanuk's core alliance held a separate
chat room during tribal councils to discuss what was to be said,
and who would say it. Although individuals appeared to answer
host questions willingly, responses were composed by the group
and scrutinized to prevent revealing valuable information. However,
the Sanuk core decided to add further misinformation about the
tribe by allowing someone not in the alliance to respond and
chat as freely as he wished. This person had no idea about the
inner workings or the dynamics of the group, therefore the Sanuk
tribe left a false impression at tribal council based on an
outsider's view. Alliances are strengthened by secrecy, and
ruined by exposure. Keep your cards close, and don't show your
hand at tribal council.
"Subtle,
subtle! They become formless. Mysterious, mysterious! They become
soundless. Therefore, they are the masters of the enemy's fate."
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War
March
26/03 - Competition
"The
biggest mistake anybody ever made was to underestimate me."
- Danielle Reyes
One
outstanding aspect of Survivor Webcam is the challenges, which
feature an excellent balance of difficulty, innovation, and
fun. Usually, no indication about one's opponent's progress
is given. Therefore, it is better to overestimate than to underestimate
one’s opponents. 3.0's Sanuk tribe used this mindset in
their immunity challenges and took control of the game; for
us, the word "enough" did not exist.
Losing
is rarely advantageous in immunity challenges, but losses in
other challenges (such as reward or special challenges) may
offer better strategic advantages than succeeding. By throwing
challenges and luring your opponents into a false sense of security,
you can manipulate the other tribe's morale. Sanuk used non-immunity
challenges to accomplish this, and purposely lost the special
"tier" challenges to appear weak. The decision not
to give full effort into immunity challenges to prevent appearing
as a future threat is a flawed strategy at this point. Early
in the game, the disadvantages of being seen as a formidable
player are outweighed by the advantages of winning immunity.
An alliance or tribe will be less likely to vote out a member
who gave a solid effort compared to a member that gave an anemic
performance. Power comes in numbers, and so protecting members
of your alliance is paramount. Being seen as a threat poses
no danger if your allies outnumber your foes.
"Better
is the enemy of good." - Voltaire
March
08/03 - Adaptability and Amiability
First
of all, I'd like add my congratulations to all of you for being
selected for the fourth installment of Survivor Webcam.
Here's the real story behind how I discovered SW: I was searching
Google to see if any previous CBS Survivors had webcams (Ms.
Filarski in particular). I signed up not knowing about online
reality gaming, much less what Survivor Webcam was. However,
this naïveté proved to be a help rather than a hindrance.
Players, here is my inital advice to you. Do away with the previous
modus operandi of your online reality gaming careers. The nature
of Survivor Webcam is change; its livelihood is the unexpected.
Your ability to adapt to challenges and crises will be your
measure of progress in the game. It is better to come up with
fresh, clever strategies than to rely on preconceived routines.
Meeting
your tribemates is definitely an exciting experience. During
this period, tribemates will be highly anxious and on their
guard. The best way to make a good impression is to be open,
be warm, and be yourself. The absolute worst strategy is to
adopt a fake persona [refer to: http://www.survivor-central.com/columns/article.php?columns_id=329].
Some players in 3.0 attempted this, but their game faces showed
cracks by the first challenge. Trying to keep your character
consistent and your stories believable is a mentally taxing
strategy, and when it inevitably fails it gives tribemates a
reason to mistrust you.
Don't
be afraid to do well on the first challenge. The result of the
first 3.0 immunity challenge was hardly, if at all, an indicator
of who would later become the strongest players. At this point
in the game, a tribemate lost is a potential ally lost. Good
luck.
"I
have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O
Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it."
--Voltaire
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